Preview | U23s welcome Villa to Madejski Stadium

Reading's Under-23s will be taking to the Madejski Stadium pitch for the first time this season, as they welcome their Aston Villa counterparts in the Premier League 2 on Monday night.

Villa are set to field a strong side in RG2, with first team players Jack Grealish and Henri Lansbury set to get a game in the second string as they recover from injury.

U23s manager Scott Marshall was a coach at Villa before his move to take charge of the Royals, and he will be renewing acquaintances with his former colleagues on the night.

Marshall has had success with his side on the pitch so far, taking 10 points out of a possible 12 in the four Premier League 2 matches they have played. Most recently, they toppled Middlesbrough 4-3 at the Riverside Stadium last time out, ending Boro's 100% record in the league this season.

Our youngsters have been gaining valuable experience already this term, having gone toe-to-toe with Portuguese champions Porto in the Premier League International Cup, as well as facing senior league opposition in the Checkatrade Trophy.

With several of the squad already having made their first team debuts this season, come along and watch the next generation of Royals as they look to go five games unbeaten in the PL2!

U23s take points in action-packed Villa encounter!

The Royals Under-23s claimed three points in an enthralling Premier League 2 encounter at Madejski Stadium against Aston Villa, with the scoreline settling at 3-2 in Reading’s favour.

A game which saw goals of quality, stunning stops, fierce challenges and a whole lot more was ultimately rewarded with a result which sent the Royals ahead of their counterparts from the Midlands.

Josh Barrett had a spot-kicked saved by Jed Steer, but his two goals in open play – either side of one by Ben House – earned the win.

Both sides boasted some experienced heads – Adrian Popa most notably for the Royals, and Jack Grealish for the visitors.

And the Villans were first to strike, as Corey Blackett-Taylor burst down the right flank and put in a teasing ball for Callum O’Hare to dart onto, finishing expertly at the back post.

But the lead didn’t last too long. It was a clever spin on half-way by Romanian international Popa which saw him burst past James Finnerty, before spreading the ball wide to Barrett. The Academy product did the rest – a drop of the shoulder put defender Mitchell Clark on the deck, before slotting inside the far post on his left boot.

Just before the midpoint of the first half, the Royals got their noses in front for the first time. Popa raced onto a through-ball on the flank, jinked inside and out, and played into the path of House who took one touch to control and another to stab in. His celebrations were somewhat muted by a knock, which would eventually result in an early substitution.

The Royals could have been two clear going into the break – Ramarni Medford-Smith continued his run forward from the left-back position to receive a one-two in the area, and in doing so drew a foul from Blackett-Taylor. Barrett stepped up to take the spot-kick – it had power and direction, but Steer guessed correctly and got strong palms to his effort.

And so instead the second half was less than four minutes old when Villa drew the game level again – this time it was their turn to counter. Steer’s early ball to Grealish allowed him to pick out Harry McKirdy on the far side, and a slippery bit of play from the front-man allowed him to find space to fire the Midlands side back on terms soon from a narrow angle.

The best was yet to come – it was a game-worthy winner. An early ball forward from Ryan East found Popa scampering down the right and after more bold dribbling, he teed up Barrett to lash beyond the stretching dive of the goalkeeper. Popa’s third assist, Barrett’s second goal, and another lead for the Royals.

George Legg was kept relatively untroubled in the latter stages – and with the visitors pushing to try and snatch a point, it was Reading who came closest to adding a sixth goal of an entertaining evening. Tyler Frost cut in off the left and rattled the base of the post, Tom Holmes attempted an acrobatic overhead when Jordan Holsgrove’s corner was only half-cleared, and sub Teddy Howe had a curling effort clawed clear as the game entered stoppage time.

There were no shortage of flare-ups in a heartily-contested Premier League 2 game and a few shouts at either ends for penalties, which the officials didn’t entertain. In the end, the ref called time on the outing for a well-earned three points for Scott Marshall’s side.

Free entry and parking for U23 meeting with Villa on Monday

A football match under the lights at Madejski Stadium for free… that’s what we have on offer on Monday 23rd October when our Under-23s host Aston Villa at 7pm!

Our U23s have enjoyed a healthy return in the past few matches… four wins and a draw in the last five outings have propelled Scott Marshall’s side up to fourth in the Premier League 2 table!

Five of our Academy prospects have debuted in the senior squad this season… if you have enjoyed what you have seen from them in those glimpses, come along and support them and their colleagues in a league fixture.

Omar Richards, Andy Rinomhota, Sam Smith and Axel Andresson have all made their first-team bow and could make up the spine of the U23 side which face the Villans. Danny Loader has also debuted… but he’s out in India with England’s U17 World Cup squad right now!

Aston Villa are one of the few teams that sit above the Royals; a win under the Madejski Stadium floodlights would see us leapfrog the Midlands side.

And our youngsters’ games are nothing if not eventful. On Sunday we took the spoils in a 4-3 win in Middlesbrough, while the previous fixture ended in a 2-2 draw when Sam Smith’s double was cancelled out in with a last-minute penalty at home against Norwich.

No need to book on Monday... just turn up on the night and back our boys!